"I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works."
Psalm 9:1
“Every miracle is a response to God’s intervention in a crisis.”1
Time and time again, as we read Bible stories, we watch God intervene in so many dilemmas. Today, people sometimes say that God doesn’t perform miraculous deeds for us like He did in Bible times. Or does He?
In the fall of 2023, our Mara Vision Outreach (MVO) team witnessed God’s incredible deeds in biblical proportions. We watched one miracle after another as they unfolded during our mission trip to Kenya in October and November.
Angelic Customs Agent
With passports stamped, the five of us from the United States all made it through to the final check through customs in Nairobi. In Kenya, one final luggage check is required to exit. The first two of the five ladies were already opening their luggage for the customs agent to reveal the Bibles they had carried with them for the pastors and teachers in the African bush. The other three of us arrived shortly thereafter.
If anyone carries items that value more than $500 USD, a duty must be paid. Not only did we have 36 Bibles, but we also had portable solar panels and new computers besides other books and materials. I alone carried about $2,000 worth of equipment. When MVO President Anita arrived, she explained, “These are for the Seventh-day Adventist pastors and teachers in Samburu and Maasai Land.”
“Adventist? Let me get the head of customs for you. He’s Adventist.”
He made his way to our little praying group. Anita made the same explanation.
“You are expected to pay the duty on all these items. But go! Just go! Do your work!”
With that, we left the airport, found our drivers, loaded the vehicles, and made our way to the guesthouse for a couple of days. During that time, we acclimated to the 10-hour difference in time zones, exchanged currency, and began to soak in the city culture before leaving for rural Kenya.
Drivers Wanted
MVO’s regular driver, Jo-Jo, couldn't take us into the African bush. Wondering about God's plans, we had to find alternative drivers at the last minute—one land cruiser was just for the luggage and goods to be distributed to MVO’s workers and another was for our team. God put forth men who needed us as much as we needed them.
God in the Midst of a Breakdown
First, God provided us with Elijah, who took us from Nairobi to Maralal, Samburu County, in northern Kenya. A little more than an hour from Nairobi, we descended into the Central Rift Valley, which runs from Lebanon to Mozambique. The “service engine soon” light began to flash on the dashboard of the land cruiser carrying the team. We made it safely to the next city, Mai Mahiu, where we stopped for repairs.
Elijah knew just where optimum service was available. A nearby mechanic with the needed belt was just a short walking distance from where we stopped alongside a busy avenue with shops, produce stands, fuel stations, service animals, and indescribable smells. In Kenya, repairmen attend to vehicles’ problems on the roadside instead of towing them to the shop.
As the belt was being replaced, we watched motorized vehicles, as well as man and donkey-powered carts maneuver themselves around one another in the streets. Pigs rummaged through the roadside garbage. More than an hour later, we resumed our journey to Maralal.
Shifting Gears
In our move from Samburu to the Maasai Mara, we switched to another driver: Ezekiel. We soon understood the amazing driver God had sent us; one reason was that not once did we get stuck in the mud of the rainy season as he drove. His pro driving skills navigated us through large mud holes, ponds, and puddles.
One day, we planned a site visit to the Ironkeni Primary School near Lolgorian, a city on the Maasai Mara. As we ascended a steep hill, a few miles before we drove through Kawai in the Trans Mara region, a part snapped on the rear axle of Ezekiel’s land cruiser.
Despite the usual November rain on the Mara, a cloudless sky and shining sun greeted us that morning. Only as God could have directed, under the blue skies, we passed a mechanic fixing another vehicle by just a few feet when the part on the axle ruptured. Our MVO men placed big rocks behind the wheels to prevent us from rolling downhill until the land cruiser was fixed. The mechanic walked over to discover the problem, and he had the exact part with him that was needed to make the repair! Angels held the land cruiser together until a precise, God-ordained moment.
The Miracle of a Soul
Ezekiel gathered with our Mara Vision team for our morning and evening worships. He loved hearing the devotional thoughts that were presented since he was Christian. During our conversations, we learned his wife is very active in the Sabbatarian church near their home on the outer perimeter of the Maasai Mara. He, however, attended a first-day church.
As he listened, Ezekiel asked Bible questions. To compliment his study, one of the team members gave Bibles to Ezekiel for both him and his wife, which he took to her when he went home.
Near the end of our time with Ezekiel, the Holy Spirit won his heart. His plan was to begin attending church with his wife and two small children. He intended to ask for baptism.
Need to See God at Work?
We all need Divine intervention, even without realizing it. While you may be unaware of it, God has interceded on your behalf. Many times, God has performed wondrous works that most of us will not recognize this side of Heaven.
Mara Vision has received so many miracles that we sometimes wonder if we have already received our share of them. Amid unfolding crises, God's power remains the only force capable of averting impending disaster.
Call to Action
I am certain that Mara Vision will experience many more of God’s wondrous works. Need a few miracles of your own? Walk the path that God puts before you. When crises appear, claim Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” He will rescue you if you serve His purpose and glorify His name.
All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
- Pavel Goia, “God Can Do Things That Will Blow Our Minds,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysexi3OSirk.
